


Indulge

by Sitrus



Series: arcana stuff [3]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: BDSM Undertones, Fever, Lucio has a cold and is a mess, Other, POV Second Person, Power Play, Sickfic, Sneezing, Sneezing Kink, but also horny, honestly, kinda written by someone's request, like for once that's actually featured lmao, nothing explicit in this though, sneeze fetish, the MC's gender is unspecified, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:13:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24511357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sitrus/pseuds/Sitrus
Summary: Lucio enjoys your attention. He really does. So much so that it makes him enjoy the sides of life he really can't stand.
Relationships: Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana), Lucio (The Arcana)/Reader
Series: arcana stuff [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756987
Comments: 12
Kudos: 34





	Indulge

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY. Just in case the tags don't make it clear, this is a kink story. Written in second person POV so if you aren't into colds or sneezing get ready for some role playing because in this story you, the reader, are very much into that. All though I didn't write it in a very explicit way.

You look at Lucio with suspicion as he sits down on the chair opposite of you. There’s a glint in his eyes and his lips keep pulling into a grin, but there’s something more to it as well, something you can’t quite name. Also, he’s dripping wet.

“What is it..?” you ask him but he feigns innocence. 

“What is what?” he asks and sniffles. His voice sounds off but it’s hard for you to say _how_.

“First of all you are dripping water everywhere”, you say, gesturing at the wet marks he’s left on the floor and at the water currently pooling around him. 

“Oh, I just took a little tumble”, he says nonchalantly. You can clearly hear the congestion in his voice now. You could maybe brush it off as him a little chilled from having wandered around in wet clothes, but he’s also a tad bit hoarse. You give him a suspicious squint.

“The sea just happened to be there.” Lucio rushes out the words and sniffles again, then presses a knuckle against one side of his nose to rub it forcefully. It makes a squelching sound but doesn’t seem to help him achieve his goal. You see his nostrils flair and his face scrunches up in irritation, his breath grows shallow... and nothing happens. He breathes out and looks directly into your eyes. Oh gods, he’s teasing you. Heat rises up your neck and you swallow against the sudden dryness in your mouth and throat. 

“Are you… Are you catching something..?” you ask. 

Lucio’s grin widens and he looks oddly pleased with himself when he responds: “Now that you ask, my nose has been very itchy all day. I lost count of how many times I’ve sneezed today hours ago. The congestion, too...”

His tone is light and playful now but you can easily imagine the irritable mess he’s been all day if that’s really true. Lucio is moody on a good day but if his body is disobeying him, frustration and anger gain dominance. Even so he seems to draw great pleasure from teasing you and from the attention he can get from you… from the reaction he can draw out.

“I hope you didn’t jump in the sea on purpose”, you say. You wouldn’t put it past him to have done just that for the sake of pulling a scene. He’s going to regret it tomorrow though, when the illness really hits him…

“I would never..!” he shouts out with mock hurt. He starts to say something about his clothes when the itch clearly returns. This time he gets maybe a second’s warning, too little to do much of anything about it. The powerful, full body sneeze makes him double over and almost hit his knees on the table between you. The itchy looks doesn’t fully leave his face even after he’s recovered. 

“Oh, of course you wouldn’t… Jumping in the sea for dramatic effect is definitely beyond you.” 

Lucio looks hurt at your sarcasm but only for a moment before the itch takes all his attention again. It seems the first sneeze was a sort of tipping point and now that he’s succumbed to it once, the itch won’t let him be. You watch in fascination as he slowly builds up to another sneeze.

“HetCHEW-hTCH! ...hhTSHE!”

Lucio sniffles wetly behind his cupped hands and seems to furiously try and will his nose under control. Then he sneezes again. And again. You count a total of eight sneezes before he can catch a proper break. You let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding, drawing Lucio’s attention to you. He looks at you with the same glint in his eyes as before despite half of his face still being covered by his cupped hands and sniffles punctuating his every inhale. You notice he’s starting to shiver.

“We should get you out of those clothes”, you say and get up, grabbing your dish towel and throwing it at Lucio. You don’t have anything better lying around the kitchen so that will have to do for now. If he accepts it as a makeshift hanky, that is. You catch a glimpse of the mess he’s been hiding when he grabs the towel and wipes his hands and nose with it.

“I like the sound of that”, he says. Of course he does. His eyes have found yours again and you are left with no doubt of what he has in mind. You don’t bother specifying you meant he should change into something dry. You are entirely opposed to his suggestions but you know he’s likely to be more exhausted and miserable than he lets on. Not that exhaustion or misery would have stopped him before.

Lucio stands up just as you turn to leave for the bedroom. You hear his steps trailing behind you, coming to a halt as he sneezes again and rushing to catch up afterwards. You dig through his clothes for something warm and comfortable while he undresses behind you. You turn around, holding a basic shirt and loose fitting trousers in your hands, to the sight of him naked and gearing up for yet another sneeze. The golden hand rests on his hip while the other's lifted half way up to his face, ready to catch what is to come. His chest heaves with hitchy breaths, his eyes fall shut and brow furrows… 

“HhTSH!” Lucio sneezes into his elbow, barely covering it, and curses. He hastily turns around and fetches the towel he’d left in the same pile with his clothes, wiping his arm with it before going almost still for several long seconds. 

“haKSHO!”

He stands in a waiting position for a couple of seconds more before turning back to face you. His eyes are still squinted in sneezy irritation and his towel holding hand still hovers at the ready. After a couple of false starts he finally lowers the hand only to bring it back up again just in time to cover a third sneeze. He hesitates for a moment, then then gives his nose a long, wet blow.

“Sorry about the interruption”, he says but the grin still plastered on his face says something else. The sight of his muscles contracting with the sneezes is still fresh on your mind, and you need to refocus yourself on the task at hand. He’s shivering more than before now that his damp skin is directly exposed to cool air of your bedroom. You try to hand him the clothes but he pushes them back.

“I know something that would definitely warm me up”, Lucio says. He walks to the bed and lies down on his side, head propped up on one hand. He makes an inviting gesture with the other before using it to rub his nose vigorously. Whatever he was doing when he joined you at the table to appear symptomless clearly isn’t working anymore. Lucio sniffles as he waits for you to respond, and when a tremor runs through him you drop the clothes on a chair, kick of your shoes and climb on the bed.

“Cuddles”, you say and get a pouty face in return. Lucio puts his free hand on your waist and pulls you closer to him. At this distance you can see the tired look in his eyes and the touch of pink around his nostrils. The running of his nose is barely kept under control by all the sniffling and you can’t resist the urge to tap it quickly with a flirtatious smile drawn on your face.

“I don’t want to exhaust you.”

Lucio let go of you the moment your finger touched his nose. He’s too busy sniffling to respond to you, desperately trying to keep his nose from dribbling while also working through another building itch. His hand is hovering in front of his face and it looks like he can’t decide what to do with it. You realise you should have grabbed him a handkerchief while you were getting the clothes but that’ll have to wait, you aren’t going to leave in the middle of this. You press your body against him and grab his hand just as he’s on the brink of sneezing. A look of surprises flashes through his face before his breath catches and he’s forced to sneeze uncovered right on you. Your shirt catches most of the spray but some lands on your bare neck.

Lucio doesn’t look up so you let go of his hand to lift his head from your shoulder. There’s an embarrassed flush on his face and he averts your eyes.

“Should I not have done that?” you ask. His face grows redder and he shakes his head, slowly turning to face your gaze.

“It’s fine.”

You smile at him and push him to lie on his back. He watches as you scramble out of the bed, get him a handkerchief and tell him to wait as you leave the room. You go to the kitchen where you have a variety of herbs drying on strings that go from one wall to another. The older patches are all dry by now and not fitted for the purpose you have in mind, but the newest batches are still fresh and you should be able to find something useful among them. You find a bundle of herbs with long, sturdy but not too thick straws. They won’t break too easily nor do they bend too much under touch.

Lucio’s lying on his back where you left him when you return, eyes closed and the handkerchief held in one hand. Lips parted, chest rising and falling slowly… It looks like he’s nodded off in your short absence. You walk across the room silently and sit down on the edge of the bed. He jumps as the bed creaks and the mattress dips under your weight, eyes shooting open. 

“You are tired”, you say. 

“Ugh. No. I was just…” Lucio’s trying to think of some excuse and you give him a sympathetic smile.

“If you need to sleep, sleep. You don’t… we don’t need to this.” You scoot a little closer to him and lay your hand on his non-prosthetic arm. 

“But I’ve been craving your attention the whole day”, he says. He’s still trying to shake the sleepiness you guess, because the words are bare, lacking most of his usual drama. He seems to realise it as well because he’s quick to pull on his playful grin and continue with a more elaborate explanation: “I’m famished for your touch. Withering away more and more every second I don’t feel your body against mine. Please grant me the pleasure only your skilled hands can give.”

You roll your eyes at his antics but nevertheless move to sit on top him. You gently touch your fingers to his cheek, brushing your thumb over his chin in a caressing way before going for his free hand and pressing it against the mattress as you lean forward. His other hand is pinned down by your leg.

“Well then… If you are certain of this, I have an idea that will definitely wake you up”, you say and show him your herb. “Lets see just how sensitive your nose is today.”

You draw a finger down the bridge of his nose and give the tip a small nudge. Even that causes a reaction. His nostrils flare as you trace them with your herb straw and you hardly get to stick it inside before he’s already trying to pull back, breath hitching and irritated tears glistening in his eyes. You draw the straw out and he’s launched into an itchy fit.

“hhrsho! htchew-tch! htsho! hhatsho!" Lucio's body jerks underneath you as one sneeze comes after another. He tries to sniffle in the mess both between the sneezes and after the fit, but his nose is running too much for it to be effective. You consider making a teasing comment but decide against it. Lucio may not mind a bit of humiliation in the bed when it comes to things you enjoy, in fact it might contribute to his eagerness to indulge you, but you know the situation in itself is already embarrassing to him. You pluck the handkerchief from his hand and wipe his nose for him. That does little to stop it from running. Maybe he can handle a bit more humiliation after all… 

"It seems to me like your nose might need blowing", you say as you press the handkerchief on his nose. He flushes red with embarrassment but complies. The blow is light though, too light for satisfactory results and thus you keep the cloth in place and wait until he takes the hint and blows properly.

You drop the handkerchief on the bed and pick up the straw again. You circle one nostril with it, then gently put it in. Like before, his nose is quick to react, but after the initial fit you can only coax out individual sneezes, sometimes doubles. Lucio is also growing tired fast, you can tell, and you know there's a limit to how many times you can make him sneeze. 

"Once more, then we can move on to other things. All right?" you say and release his hands. Tired as he may be, his naked form makes it obvious what he wants and you, too, are eager for the same. You roll off of him and lie down, pressing the straw in Lucio's own hand. 

"Climb on top. I want to watch from this angle." 

Again Lucio complies. He sits up and takes his place on top of you. Your hands find his hips and you caress them as he inserts the straw back in and starts moving it around, looking for just the right spot. Even when he finds it, it takes some time for him to coax out a sneeze after all the inducing you did. Your hands caress his legs and hips as you watch him work it up. 

“hhuTSHOO! hhrshoo!” 

Lucio automatically raises a hand to cover the two final sneezes. You hand him the handkerchief and he hastily wipes his nose and hands. He’s so eager to jump into what is to come that you don’t stop to make sure he’s fine to continue directly. His hands have already found their way under your shirt and he’s leaning forward to find your lips, but you push him back and sit up. He lifts your shirt off and pulls you into a hungry kiss…

You lie in the bed cuddling for a while after you finish. Lucio’s curled up against you and is dozing off as you pet his hair and idly watch the movement of his blond strands under your touch. Eventually though you get up, nudging Lucio awake so he can follow you as you go wash up.

Lucio wanders off once he’s all clean and redressed. You go back into the kitchen and sit down in your chair, picking up the book you were studying before. It’s getting late but not late enough for you to go to sleep yet, so you decide to put the time into use. It’s a slow book to read due to its topic and you’ve only read two pages by the time Lucio joins you in the kitchen. Mercedes and Melchior trail behind him and you realise you haven’t seen them the whole evening. It seems Lucio had made them wait elsewhere to give you two some privacy.

Lucio settles in the chair opposite to you and folds his arms on the table. He watches you as you read, half asleep and sniffling a lot. He’s definitely a distraction. You can’t help but look at him every time he moves to wipe his nose or to rub at it, or when he lets out a small cough. Or the one time he sneezes in the twenty or so minutes he sits there, or when one of the dogs pokes at him with its muzzle to get his attention and some petting. You are surprised he has the patience (and energy) to just watch you read for as long long as he does before he gets up, circles the table and grabs your sleeve.

“Come to bed”, he says. Both the congestion and hoarseness are more pronounced in his voice than they were earlier and the words slur together under his sleepy haze. You look at your book, then at him, then at your book again before setting it on the table and putting your bookmark in place. You do kind of owe him some gentle affection after the session you had.

Lucio throws himself on the bed as soon as you get in the bedroom. He settles on his own side of it and pulls a blanket over himself, watching you as you complete your evening routine. You lie down on your own side and, as Lucio scoots over for cuddles, Mercedes and Melchior take over the space Lucio just freed.

You've been awake for a couple of hours before Lucio wakes up. A drawn out sneezing fit followed by a congested nose blow and some light coughs let you know he's awake before he emerges from the bedroom. He’s looking dishevelled and still groggy from sleep and walks straight to your coffee pot to see if there’s any left from the morning. To his luck there is and he pours himself a cup despite it having gone cold already and almost spills it all over himself with a sudden sneeze. He blows his nose before focusing on his coffee again. He looks around the shelves, spots a jar of honey and pours a hefty amount into the cup.

“Can you heat it up?” he asks, holding the cup toward you. You set your book aside and pick up the cup, imagining heat pooling in your hands and then flowing out. In no time the coffee is steaming hot again and Lucio thanks you in a very mild manner considering his usual persona, plants a warm kiss on your cheek and sits down on a chair to sip the drink. His voice has gone from slightly hoarse to raspy overnight and he’s so congested you can practically feel the headache it’s causing him. You can’t help feeling a little guilty over how sick he seems to be.

“How are you feeling?” you ask. He looks at you like he’s been waiting forever for you to ask that.

“Ugh, just terrible. Sick. I don’t know which is going to kill me first, my head or my throat. Oh, even just talking hurts.” Lucio swallows against the pain and grimaces before taking a long sip of his coffee. The warmth seems to help and he continues rambling: “I was so lonely and cold in the bed all alone when I woke up, and I couldn’t even smell your lovely scent in the sheets. I can’t believe my own body would betray me like that…”

He’s awfully rambly for someone whose throat is so sore. It looks like he only stopped talking to take another gulp of the coffee and is gearing up for more complaining so you rush to talk before he gets the chance.

“Okay! I got it. I don’t think you should be talking if your throat is so sore. You don’t sound well either so just… save your voice”, you say. He pouts at you but doesn’t say a word. For a while at least.

“Do you have anything planned for the day?” Lucio eventually asks.

“Just work.”

“Ugh, boring. I’m bored, I want to do something fun”, he says with a pout. You look at him in mild disbelief.

“Weren’t you just complaining about how sick you feel?” you say. He groans, then sneezes with no warning at all, yet he still manages to cover it with a handkerchief you hadn’t noticed him holding. He sneezes again, blows his nose and balls the cloth up inside his fist.

“I can be sick and bored”, he responds.

There’s no arguing that. You eye him with conflicted feelings, taking in every bit of his very apparent misery. He looks so tired, too. You remember the unusual warmth of his kiss, and you are hit with another bang of guilt.

“Sorry… I can’t help feeling like I was acting against my better judgement yesterday”, you say. You bite your lip, feeling nervous about bringing the whole thing up and addressing your feelings on the matter. “I should have let you rest. Instead I… uhh…"

Your face heats in embarrassment as you try to find the right words. You can't think of a good way to summarise it all but you definitely left Lucio exhausted… Lucio, on the other hand, flashes a wide, playful smile at you. 

"Instead you gave me a magical evening full of immeasurable pleasure”, he says. You assume his tone is supposed to reflect said pleasure but the state of his voice mostly ruins the effect. His expression certainly portrays his thoughts well enough to make up for it… “I would definitely be up for another round of that.”

You can’t deny the allure of his suggestion but you are rational enough to understand that is not a very good idea. While the honey infused coffee has perked him up and he’s no longer practically half asleep, he’s still sick enough to be running a mild fever. Lucio doesn’t seem to care, though; his body language makes it obvious he means what he says.

“And here I thought you were all miserably sick”, you respond with an exaggerated eye roll. With ironical timing, Lucio’s nose draws his full attention to itself before he can respond. Unlike the previous sneezes that came with little warning, the itch takes its time to build up and he hovers on the edge for several seconds before snapping into his handkerchief with the first or several sneezes.

“Haksho! Hh..! Htsho! Hhrsho! Hh… Hetsho-h-tsh! HrrSHO!”

Lucio blows his nose into the handkerchief when the fit ends, for once doing it as hard as he can without hesitation. He attempts to sniffle through the remaining congestion with little success, folds the hanky and blows again. The following test sniffle is more successful but--

“hhHAKSHO!”

\-- it also triggers an additional sneeze and his nose fills up again. When he’s finally done for the time being, he pockets the sodden handkerchief and swallows with a wince. The ordeal seems to have sapped all his energy and he folds his arms on the table and lays his head on top. 

"What if instead of you doing something 'fun' but exhausting, you go back to bed and I make you something for your throat?" you suggest as you reach to brush some hair off of his eyes. He hums in agreement and slowly gets up. Even so he looks displeased and like he wants to keep arguing, so you kiss his cheek and look him in the eyes with an affectionate smile.

“Go make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right there.”

The rest of the morning passes peacefully with Lucio in the bedroom and you working on some magic commissions. You are a little surprised he lets you work with practically no disturbances save for the exaggerated whines and moans he sometimes lets out. You know he’s been awake for most of the time though because he’s not quiet by any means; when he’s not sneezing or blowing his now, both of which he does a lot, he seems to be talking to the dogs. 

You hear shuffling and footsteps from behind you as you are finishing with lunch preparations. Lucio’s arms wrap around you soon after and he plants a kiss on the nape of your neck. Rather than letting you go afterwards or even lifting his face from your neck, he presses his nose there and sniffles. You can tell his nose is running from the wetness on your skin but his sniffles are too congested to help with that. 

“Your potion's wearing off", Lucio whines. His voice sounds strained, more so than before. You listen to his continued sniffles as you weight your options; on one hand his throat seems to really be bothering him and you could help, but on the other hand he clearly stops caring about the soreness if he doesn't feel its full force. And less sore doesn't mean the underlying problem has been removed.

You put the lid on the pot you've been idly stirring, put the ladle away and turn around. Lucio is forced to let go of you, something which he looks sad about until you cup your hands on his cheeks. You’ve done a good job keeping your hands off despite his flirting, but you have to admit the cold-ridden look suits him rather well. His hair is a mess and his nose is red from all the blowing and wiping, lips parted for breathing. He still feels warm under your touch and as your eyes wander down you notice he’s draped a shawl over his shoulders. You brush his hair back with one hand, then trace a line down his temple to his jaw and pull him into a kiss. Lucio is eager to respond and it would be so very easy to get carried away by the contact if he wouldn’t need to break the kiss to draw in air. You brush his cheek with your thumb and give him another small kiss before letting go of him.

“Go sit at the table and I’ll bring you another cup”, you say, pushing his hands off of your hips. He’s getting clingy again, and doesn’t seem happy about losing contact, but takes a seat anyhow. You have the potion ready in a pot and all you need to do is heat it up again. You pour some into a cup for him before grabbing two bowls and filling them up with the soup you’ve made.

“It’s that soup that you like, just less spicy”, you say when he eyes his soup with mild suspicion.

“I’m just not very hungry.”

“Nauseous?”

Lucio shakes his head. 

“Just not very hungry”, he repeats, swallowing painfully against the strain talking is putting on his throat. The next attempt to talk makes him cough, and he downs half of the potion on one go to combat the irritation. His voice is still suppressed to a nearly inaudible rasp by the pain when he does speak: “I was going to say my throat’s getting really sore but that should take care of that.”

Lucio looks very pleased about that. He drinks the rest of the potion and starts stirring his soup and poking at the bits with his spoon as he waits for the effects to set in. He looks maybe a little too eager to get relief from the pain, considering how much he enjoys talking his head off. The way the cold is settling into his throat is making you worry he’ll damage his voice permanently if he isn’t careful. You have a feeling you’ve witnessed that happen to someone before but your memories are still a little hazy on some things and you can’t recall the details.

“You really should avoid talking, you know”, you say. Lucio looks up and you make sure your expression is appropriately worried. “You sound so sick and I don’t want you to get any long term problems from this.”

"Don't you like the way I sound?" he asks, pretending to be shocked and hurt by your words. You can't help but roll your eyes; this is what he defies all sense for. Drama. 

"Oh you sound very nice, believe me", you say. “That’s definitely not the issue. I doubt you want your voice permanently hoarse though."

Lucio turns back to his soup, tries to sniff it then gives it a taste. Then takes a proper spoonful, then another. The potion must have helped some since the spices, which the soup still has even if it’s not as hot as it usually is, don’t seem to be hurting his throat. 

"It's delicious", he says after a few mouthfuls in an obvious attempt to change the subject. He tries to sniffle through his loosening congestion and adds: "From what I can tell."

He sets his spoon down into the bowl and sniffles again, pulling out a handkerchief from somewhere under the shawl and blows his nose hard. He keeps blowing until the handkerchief reaches its limits. When he sniffles again he's remarkably less congested than he has been all day. 

"Ohhh that's much better", Lucio groans with pleasure. He rubs the sides of his nose and sniffles again. “Is everything you do magic? You always know how to make my problems go away.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s only a temporary relief”, you say but he doesn’t seem to care. He also doesn't seem to care much about how his nose is definitely running more than before. He merely pulls one end of the shawl over his hand and presses his now shawl covered knuckles under his nose. It's your shawl and maybe the fanciest thing you own, woven from fine wool in the colours of the setting Nopal sun. You got it as a present once and you can definitely see why Lucio has picked it in specific. You get up to grab a clean towel for him. 

"The shawl's softer", Lucio whines but takes the towel regardless. 

Lucio retires back into the bedroom after lunch with plenty of complaints. You have a couple of scheduled readings for the afternoon but you promise to join him when you have the time. When you pop in to check if he’d like your company in between clients, he's snoring in his nest of pillows and blankets with a book laid out on his chest. You tiptoe silently through the room to check everything is fine. 

He joins you for dinner after your last customer has left and you’ve closed to shop for the day. He still says he isn't very hungry and that he just wants to get out of the bed for a change, but he agrees to eat at least a bit of something when you agree to play some card games with him to pass the evening. When you both have eaten, you make the two of you some tea while he cleans the table and sets it up for whatever game he wants to play. His appetite for sweets is much better than his appetite for actual food, and you totally lose the track of time as you enjoy each other’s company and some foreign snacks you got from a customer.

It's late when the two of you finally go to bed. Lucio insists it's fine, that he isn't too tired nor feeling too bad, but you can tell he's not entirely honest. He gladly accepts the potion for his throat but insists it's all he needs despite the obvious congestion and even though you suspect it might become an issue during the night, you are tired enough to let it be. You falls asleep quickly, and the last sound you hear as your consciousness slips away are the snorts and sniffs coming from Lucio as he tries to find some comfort. 

You wake up to his tossing and turning maybe an hour later, vaguely aware of him having been restless the whole time you slept. 

"Can't sleep?" you ask and he jumps a little. He hadn't even noticed you waking up. 

"No. Too congested…" hehe admits a little awkwardly. You sit up and watch him for a while as he continues to try and find a position where the congestion wouldn’t bother him as much. He isn’t any more successful than before.

"I have something that should help", you say. You would have offered it earlier had he not insisted everything was fine, all though you are a little reluctant to do so… "It might irritate your nose at first, though. Just a word of warning." 

Lucio sits up as well, looking much more relieved than you thought he would. 

“I’ll take temporary pain or any amount of sneezing over this”, he says, snorting pointedly. Apparently sitting up made some kind of a difference, though, because he soon has a sleeve covered wrist pressed under his nose. You are certain he had a handkerchief when he went to bed but it’s nowhere to be seen now, and he even asks for a new one when you get out of bed. You get him one before fetching a small jar from somewhere among your equipment.

“I saved some just in case when I made this to a client”, you say as you hand the little jar to Lucio. You don’t know if you could call the contents a “salve”, really, but so far it’s the best fitting label you’ve thought of. “It’s the season for colds and such, after all, so I figured having some might come in handy.”

Lucio opens the jar and looks at its contents. The substance has taken a suspiciously green colour from all the herbs mixed in and he automatically tries to sniff it. 

“Just apply it around your nose… a small amount is enough.”

He looks at the jar a little longer then turns to look at you with a suspicious smirk on his face.

“Oh, I wouldn’t know what to do, really. I think you should show me”, he says, handing the jar back to you. It takes you some time to process what he said and what he implied. Suddenly your face is hot and lips are dry.

“Uhh… Are you sure..? That’s…”

“Absolutely certain.”

Lucio moves to sit right in front of you. He takes a stable position and practically offers his face to you. You take a moment to collect yourself, which is a little hard when you know he’s suggesting more than just innocent guidance in applying the salve. You scoot even closer, put the open jar next to you and place on steadying hand on his cheek.

“...has your fever gone up?” you ask, brows furrowing. It’s hard to tell but it certainly feels possible. Lucio shrugs.

“I’ve been chilled the whole evening, I wouldn’t notice a thing”, he says as if it didn’t matter at all. Then again you are sure he would have noticed had his body temperature gone up by a lot, and surely you, too, would be more certain of your observation then. You let the subject be and draw in a deep, calming breath before swiping a small amount of the salve on the tip of your finger.

“I’ll put some extra this first time because you are so congested. If you need to apply more during the night, a small amount under your nose should be enough”, you instruct, trying to keep your voice normal despite feeling so awkward it’s hard to get the words out. You swipe your salve covered finger down the bridge of his nose and over its sides before taking more of the substance and applying a small amount over both of his cheeks and right above the inner corners of his eyebrows. It might make his eyes water but the salve should work through the skin to open up his sinuses as well, just in case they are also affected.

You can tell the salve is working, and you haven’t even got to the sensitive areas yet. You see the signs of a budding itch in the details of Lucio’s face even in the darkness of the night, and he’s desperately trying to sniffle through the still overwhelming congestion. His nose was running slightly to begin with but now you can see some moisture pooling on the edge of one nostril. You hold your breath as you wipe it off with a finger, then look around to find the handkerchief from earlier. When you find it, you gently dap the skin dry.

“This might sting a little, the skin here looks irritated”, you warn as you gently touch your finger into the salve. You draw a slow line down his septum and all the way to the curve of his upper lip. He reacts immediately by scrunching up his nose and pulling back automatically. He catches himself, though, and leans back towards you.

“Can you, uhh… Can you try and not sneeze until I tell you you can..?” you ask him even though forcing the words out makes your face heat up in embarrassment. He doesn’t even look surprised as he smiles at you and nods.

You need to dab the underside of his nose dry again before you continue applying the salve. You cover the arch of one nostril first, moving slower than might be needed, then move on to the other one. Lucio is clearly trying to will himself to not react in any way but his nostrils are quivering and his breath keeps almost hitching. As a final touch you apply some salve right under his nose where you hadn’t yet put any, put the handkerchief into his hand and take a few extra seconds just to observe the look of barely contained irritation on his face. You know he’s on the edge and if you don’t release him soon, he’s likely going to lose control anyhow. You are a little surprised he’s lasted this long.

“Okay, you can sneeze.”

Lucio hardly has time to raise his hand to cover the following sneezes and you even feel some spray land on your skin after the first one. The rest of them he catches in the handkerchief with no issues though. 

“hhrssho! hhtsho! rrSHO! ...htsho!” the first three sneezes come with little time between them but even if the rest come in slower, the fit is still intense and continues to take up all of Lucio’s focus. He catches a small break after the sixth sneeze but, even as he lowers the handkerchief from his face to wipe his nose and to fold the cloth before sneezing again, his breath stays shallow and his eyes squinted in itchy irritation. The four final sneezes take more time than the ones before them but they are also stronger and wetter. The fit leaves him slightly out of breath and he lets himself recover before giving his nose a light blow, folding the handkerchief and blowing harder. He folds the cloth again but only presses it against his nostrils.

“Oh. Wow. What is that..?”, Lucio asks. It’s clear those sneezes tore painfully through his raw throat but even so Lucio looks pleased as he sniffles wetly against the handkerchief. A stray sneeze catches him off guard and leaves him mopping the mess the folded piece of cloth is hardly able to contain. He sniffles and wipes and folds the handkerchief again, then wipes his nose again.

“I think I need a new one”, he says a little awkwardly as he drops the hanky on the bed and presses his sleeve in its place. You can tell he’s embarrassed. Not that that surprises you, considering how easily he is embarrassed by wet colds and general sniffliness.

“Oh, I might need to sneeze some more.” You can’t decide if Lucio sounds more like he’s dreading it or maybe looking forward to it. Whichever it is, he looks surprised at his own discovery, then mildly alarmed. “I’m definitely going to sneeze.”

You get out of the bed again and fetch him not one handkerchief but the whole pile, just in case. You hand one to Lucio and drop the rest between your pillows for easy access, returning to your position in front of Lucio just in time for--

“hhKSHO! hrrSHO! hh… haTSH”

Lucio bends forward with the force of the sneezes. He straightens back up and blows his nose thoroughly, sighing as he drops the sodden handkerchief next to the previous one. 

"Umm… Sorry. I didn't think it would make you sneeze so much", you say. While it has been fascinating to watch his reaction to the salve, you are afraid the excessive sneezing has made the experience unpleasant. Lucio looks at you in confusion before his lips twist into a playful smile. 

"What are you apologising for? I had forgot my head can feel this clear”, Lucio is practically purring, except all his throat will let out is quiet croak. He takes a tentative breath through his nose and while the amount of air that passes through probably isn’t satisfactory, he’s a lot less congested than he was just a moment ago. He seems pleased. Very pleased. Pleased enough to have forgotten his exhaustion in favour of kissing you with such great passion you almost get carried away by it. 

"Are you sure about this?" you ask, pushing Lucio at an arm's length to see his face and giving him a serious look. It's clear he's not looking for a kiss only and it’s hard to keep from feeling the same way when you practically can feel his desire flowing into you where your skin touches his, and when he’s offering himself to you like this. You will gladly follow where he’s about to lead you, but you are still worried he’s acting without thinking at all. You need the moment’s pause, if only to make sure he pauses to consider the situation. You are satisfied to see him grow more serious for a moment as he clearly does just that, but the flirty spark quickly returns to his eyes. The playful smile is back as well, and you can’t help admiring the lines it brings out around his eyes. It’s one of those weird moments when a small detail, that you never thought would become so significant, draws your attention and has you enamored. 

"Definitely", is the only verbal answer Lucio gives before guiding your hands down his body and leaning forward to continue with the kissing. You respond with passion, letting him push you all the way down on the bed.


End file.
